Preflight pilot training aircraft apparatus



June 17,1947.

V. S. JENSEN PRE-FLIGHT PILOT TRAINING AIRCRAFT APPARATUS Filed Aug. 16, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

I JJZ/YJE/v BY 1 4 ATTORN EY.

J n 11, 1947. 9. 5. JENSEN 2,422,552

PRE-FLIGHT PILOT TRAINING AIRCRAFI APPARATU S Filed Aug. 16, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V INVENTOR. VQLMEI? 5.72715 BY ATTORN EY.

I I This invention relates the provision of an air pilot training apparatus seen on line 33 of Fig-1.

Patented June 17, 1947 PREFLIGHT PILOT TRAINING AIRCRAFT APPARATUS l f olmer S.,Jensen, Glendale,- Calif.,-assignor.to

' California Aero of California Glider b., Inc., a corporation Application August 16, 1943, SerialNo. 498,757

to and has for an object,

constructed and arranged as nearlyas possible ,to conform to an airplane but adapted to be stationarily mounted in a class room and provided with elements and controls therefor which,when

- a trainee is in the pilots position, will aiford the trainee an idea of conditions encountered in the operation of an airplane when in flight.

The invention comp-rehends the provision of a small'scale model of'a real airplane, capable of holding and under control of a pilot and provided witha fuselage, wings, ailerons, a rudder,

and a controlling mechanism operable by" the pilot in a manner similar to conventional airplane controls, together with a standard upon which. the model is freely rotatable and universally movable as to inclinationlaterally and longitudinally. 1

Another objectisto provide on'such an apparatus a motor driven propeller, the axis of which is adjustableat the'will of .thepilot and relative to the axis of the motor spindle foreffecting rotation of the trainer about a vertical axis while the body is. freely tilta-ble in any direction and at a pointin a revolution thereof by operation of the aileron and elevator controls,

A still further object is to provide longitudinal and transverse resilient connections between the fuselage and the supporting standard for tensioning and stabilizing the fuselag l Other objects may appear as the description of my invention progresses,

. I have shown: a form of apparatus embodying my invention inthe accompanyingdrawings, in which: I i

Fig. 11 is a to plan view;

Fig-2 is a side elevation; V

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section of the means for supportingthe fuselage on the standard. as

Fig. 3A is a fragmentary sectional'elevation of the lowerend of the supporting standard.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation;;,

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic sectional elevation on line 5-5 of Fig. 1; and I Fig. 6 is a fragmentaryplan on, lineMB- B of Fig. 5. a conventional manner, though on a small scale, an apparatusembodying my improvements includes a fuselage A with a cockpit 1 adapted to seat a pilot trainee, a rudder B at the rear having relatively fixed and adjustable members '2 and 3, an elevator 1C having-fixed stabilizing portions and relatively adjustable portions 5, and

6 Claims. (01. 35-12) V wings D having adjustable ailerons 6. All of said elements are mounted as aunit .on a suitable standardE having a base 1 formed with a plurality of wide spreading legs 8, 8, etc. and a central vertical standard 9 rigidly fixed at its bottom to the base and. extended upwardly into the interior of the fuselage at a point substantially at the center of gravity of the fuselage.

Standard 9 is rotatable on a stationary post 9a, and may be provided at its top with a suitable .ballfbearin'g 10 or otherftype of anti-friction bearing adapted, to receive; -a sccket ll carried by a skeleton frame lz which has a pluralityeof arms I3 inclinably dis osed and attachedat their lower extremities to the floor of the fuselage, said floor having an aperture I4 which is of sufficient diameter'to permitthe tilting of the fuselage to a :desired extent during training operations.

@tandardS has an extension 9' which may be welded tothe standard and suitably supports the than i9. Socket Ii may have a nut ll. screwed into its upper end andabearing member l0 con- ,fined in the socket between said nutsand ball I0 peller may be swung to the right orleft at the points substantially outwardly of the fuselage as shown in Fig. 3. Standard 9 is preferably of tubular cross section and carries ball bearings 9b and 9;; (Figs. 3 and 3A) at its top and bottom, respectively, for rotatably supporting the same on post 9 ,Wings D arebraced by rods l5, 15 arranged in pairsonopposite sides of the fuselage and are disposed diagonally with their-upper extremities secured to the fuselage and their lower-extremwill of the pilot,. and connected with rudderB'so as to effect rotation of the fuselage on the axis of the standard 9 inyadesired direction. Motor]? 451 ismountedon a suitably pivoted support IE to which a pulley '69. is fixed and on Whicha sleeve IBbiS, rotatably held;

v provide the usual-stick H which is pivotally mounted: at I! on the floor of the fuselage andis .crum I! with the ailerons 6, 6, as by means arranged for connectionatpoints below the fulof'cableslil, 18, respectively. Saidcables are at- .tachedto'ifixtures [9, 19, on'the ailerons and operate over pulleys 20', 20,- onthe lower sides of wings D, D, and are suitably connected with portions 2:, 2| of the stick H, (Fig. 4), so that the movement of the stick laterally will correspondingly incline the associated ailerons in a desired direction and to a desired extent.

Portions 5, 5, of the elevator C are transversely connected for simultaneous operation and are suitably hinged to thestabiliing filiieily portions 4, 4, by suitable means; Said p'brtionst, 5; are connected with the stick H, as shown in Fig.

by means of a cable 22 fixed at its rear end-ti) a member 23, and at'its forward end to ;a pgi nt; j l 24 on the stick. The portions 5 are 'tensipned 1;"

as by means of a spring 25 attachedat its op 0- site ends to a member 26 pn oriefoif the ppr'tiofis 5, and at its forward end to a lug fl'on'fus ela ge A. 'Thus, spring 25 tends to tip the portions 5 upwardly while the forward movement of .fst'ick H serves to tip said portions downwardly. v The elevator and the-stick are held in 'n'brmai or neutral position howiever, by the opposing tens"on of a control spring; 8 which is -tris'i6ned between a pointpf atpa hniex'it 'z 'at standar '9 landa 'p'oint ofv connection- 30 with stick and utilizing cable 3| operable joverpuljleys 3"; and '3 3 an d anchored; reispe ive'ly to the bottom of mi eage and moms-apar t (Eig.j 5). g a

and at its bther extremity ne s attached V V 'Pul1 eys 31 and Y r d, respectively, te'ru-seiag gvana "a obnvehiehfporti'oh W31 standard 9 "'or' to the at will by manipulation of stick H to simwamseiimbm r ei ing niovementsfi ana triere as ng and mining operations, ned.- rn this resp'ec't; attention I is dllclid to "the 'swivlled "propeller and the rudder-which, in my Itfiainirig ap aratusfiare arranged to rbtate "the arm on the axis 6 the V eonnetedtosucn znd and'whichl willfnow des'crib e. I Rudder Bias showndif Fig. -"1,*' is tens-toned by means 'of a i'spnn'g :39, "which has one end attacl'i'e'dcajtta poi rit lfl to the fnse'lage :a-"n'd its opposite i'att'aehed to a memeer n I owprtiens "o'f the-rudder. said i udder has angexteiieed member 42 opposite member '41 to which a" dahle Q 43 is connected .aind'le'aids t'o the right" hand end Ia's ivie'wed; by ai pilot-y of afood operated 'c'ross L-I Od Z 44 .IWhiC'h isfixed to' sle'eve 6b' on the" -rnotor ssupp'ortlfi; V e a I As shown in Fig. 6, a cable4 5 connects an e'rid of. cross rod :441 with zpu'lleyi 1 6a and has" one end hired to, pulley 1 6a? "ali'diitsi other en'd: to red" 44, s 'dv'cable being ioperableliover"anzintermediate gp ley 46 :whichjis suitably supported" on :th'e elage flfhe {left hand. end 'lOf. rod '44 is. :simierlylnqnnected fJWi h-i pulley 16a 1 zbyi'a :icable 41 1;vhiehpneeat e r.anenqh edeu i rfl. :T when pressure is applied-to the extended por- 4 Y tions of the rod 44, the pulley lfia, motor F and propeller G are correspondingly swung on their axes, and with them the rudder B, but it will be noted that motor F and rod 44 swing in opposite directions in order to accommodate the position of the rudder to the adjusted propeller axis.

tr'oTs that a right hand turn-'rnay be effecteclby a corresponding right hand operation of rod 44, and reversely to negotiate a left hand turn.

pperating my apparatus, should learn the opera- ,rtions necessary to actual flying operations, and end thejc'ontrols and the direction of their is l modern era t'ise in flying.

:My fsimplifid rand improved pre-flight training apparatus as herein described and illustrated, 'le'ndsit'self readily and with good results to its employment in connection with a suitable chart, d'iagr'airi or--rhf on which mayee shown pro- 4 .v s 4 flfd ttii'er m ermaeenwhich-wineries ee a idea 'of what anew-ni h p rti'cular irioveihents and eiretien's of n airplane te --aeeamp1ish;air-

As shown in *4, 1" term-stability er craft is eentre iedasy spr ngs 50, so, attached at Dom-13%|, EL- to tlie bottom- 0f 'standard'w and at their iopbbsl-fie ends 3E0 6319185 52, Z52, which operateover -pulleys 53; 53; carried by wii'ig's l), while the cables 52 52; are attached to the lower end of s ak n; ck isheld-inri 50, see aw; til-ting "er t e *bod'y on' its-{single sup ort It either at'erauy, longitudinallyflor eliagon-ally; win tensiea orie er mit-re of trie -eon- 4 trol springs.

s 'are fatta s not When the appa" tusis assembled I Iage 1 mounted 'fon -tne :-=starrdard v th'e'tfuse shown, a

trainee is installed in the-cockpit xiari'zethimsar with the controls 'and tlreir efiect tor is started the tendency to non-rotation 'or the extent of rotation of tiheiflisielag e anfditsia'ssociated elements Will ;de1:3e d upor i the positions Hof the -aileron's, rirdder a elevatorfia's well as the a'xial angularity -'or ax'ia -alinementf of the motor spindle with tliedhg'itddirial airi-sof the fuselage} V It WilLh'e app ing the axial angularityr'of tl e=prep'ellerashaft direction of the angle dfziadjustrne'ntfia-fidwlie "position-of! the rudderrwii'l'either tend toialcfielerate or retard such rotative movement off-itftie craft. Likewise :tt'he' crazft j is rotating'ithe adjustment of thegel'evators'itends to tilt 'the :rai t "forwardly 'or' backward-ly' a-nd tithe igti'ltin'g nf- .th'e ail erons-xsi-mi'larlyiftends to 1711127 135118 craft :1 ateia'lly Lzincorieinora anotheridireetionivagainstthe 'tens'ro'n 1o ;t;he'ir.t re'spectivercontrol springs 2-8-34, 7 59 50. r j J j l-lqwever it is essential that a trainee when' enft 1 may vary to correspond to even keel by the tension of springs 2B,' 34,, and 7 t thereof to 'which yrfamil- *onthestability of 'tli e 'niachirie. Whnith mearentf that? by batslightly arising there :wi-ll'be atendency'torotate the craft arr-the At all times, however, due to the single sup port of the craft on its standard, stabilization and control is more or less difficult, depending upon the skill f the trainee. Continued operation of the apparatus develops in a trainee a sense of balance, direction and other values which are essential to actual flight in a motored airplane or glider.

The apparatus is designed and constructed to simulate, as nearly as possible, all of the known movements of an airplane, including straight line flying, rolling, banking, diving, spinning and other movements, and by reason of the fact that the body is freely mounted on but a single universal support (the ball ID) a maximum degree of concentration, sense of stability and coordination of faculties is necessary for its operation. It is not material to this invention but worthy of mention, that some or many of conventionally employed instruments may be employed on my apparatus, such as compass, inclinometer, speed indicators, etc.

Standard 9 may have a collector 55 with a body of insulating material and a pair of rings 56 and 51 thereon adapted to receive brushes 58 and '59 (Fig. 3A) carried by an insulating block 60 attached at a suitable point to a portion of base 1, said brushes being connected with a source of electricity. Electric current is conducted to motor F and other instruments and elements by suitable wiring leading from the collector rings 56 and 51.

It will be noted that in Figs. 2, 4, and 5, I have omitted the collector 55 in the illustration of Standard 9 (as shown in Fig. 3A), as well as the brush mounting 60, for the purpose of more clearly illustrating the assembled apparatus, but it will be understood in the consideration of this invention that the structure of Fig. 3A applies to Figs. 2, 4, and as well.

What I claim is:

1. A pre-fiight airplane pilot training apparatus comprising: a stationary standard, a pilot supporting body simulating an airplane fuselage mounted thereon for yawing, pitching and rolling motion and including a fixture attached to and wholly within the body and universally movable on said standard, and including laterally extended wings, an aileron on each wing, a rudder, an elevator, a single manually operable member connected with and for controlling the adjustment of said ailerons and said elevator, a motor mounted on said body, a propeller drivingly connected with said motor for rotation on a horizontal axis, said propeller being also bodily rotatable on a vertical axis, and a foot operated control commonly connected to said propeller and to said rudder for simultaneous operation and for regulating the yawing motion of the body.

2. A pre-fiight airplane pilot training apparatus as characterized in claim 1, including: resilient connections between said manually operable member, said elevator, and said standard for controlling the pitching of the body on the standard.

3. A pre-flight airplane pilot training apparatus as characterized in claim 1, including: resilient connections between said manually operable member, said ailerons and said standard for controlling the rolling of the body on the standard.

4. A pre-fiight airplane pilot training apparatus as characterized in claim 1, including: connections between the said manually operable member, said elevator, said ailerons and said standard for controlling the rolling and pitching of the body on the standard.

5. A pro-flight airplane pilot training apparatus comprising: a stationary standard, a fuselage supported thereon at a single point for rolling, pitching and yawing motion of the fuselage, said standard extending into said fuselage, means within and attached to the fuselage for supporting the fuselage on the standard, a motor mounted in the nose of the fuselage, a propeller drivingly connected with the motor, a rudder on the tail of the fuselage, and pilot operated members operably connecting and for correspondingly adjusting the angles of the propeller and rudder simultaneously for changing the yaw of the fuselage on the standard.

6. A pre-flight pilot training apparatus comprising: a stationary standard, a body simulating the fuselage of an airplane supported thereon at a single point for universal movement, a motor mounted in the nose of the fuselage, a propeller drivably connected with the motor and having a horizontal axis, a rudder on the tail of the fuselage, and foot operated members operably connecting and for correspondingly adjusting the angles of the propeller and the rudder simultaneously for changing the yaw of the fuselage on the standard, a manually operable member, an elevator connected therewith, a pair of wings each having an aileron also connected with said manually operable member, and spring means connecting said fuselage with said standard at longitudinally spaced points and also at transversely spaced points and tending to restore the fuselage to normal position after the pitching and rolling of the fuselage on the standard.

VOLMER S. JENSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,852,927 Hall Apr. 5, 1932 2,176,476 Twining Oct. 17, 1939 1,205,776 Morgan Nov. 21, 1916 2,319,115 Crowell May 11, 1943 1,934,464 Helper Nov. 1, 1933 2,306,429 Edwards Dec. 29, 1942 2,323,322 Geisse July 6, 1943 1,865,828 Buckley July 5, 1932 2,032,708 Mallon Mar. 3, 1936 2,062,678 Rockwell Dec. 1, 1936 2,336,711 Barber Dec. 14, 1943 2,358,018 Lowlsrantz Sept. 12, 1944 

